[Report 1905] / Medical Officer of Health, Chatham Borough.
- Chatham (Kent, England). Borough Council.
- Date:
- 1905
Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Credit: [Report 1905] / Medical Officer of Health, Chatham Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.
18/62 page 16
![The regulations made by the Local Government Board in connection with the above, are for prescribing and regulating the lighting, ventila- tion, cleansing, drainage and water supply of Cowsheds and Dairies, and for securing the cleanliness of milk stores, milk shops, and milk vessels used for containing milk for sale by persons following the trade of cowkeepers or dairymen, and for prescribing precautions to be taken by purveyors of milk, and persons selling milk by retail, against infection or contamination. Everybody is interested in the purity of the milk supply, which is the staple food of infants and invalids throughout the country, but few take any trouble or pains to verify for themselves the source of their milk ; and I fear that this apathy on the part of the consumer re-acts on the cowkeeper, who, as a rule, is not nearly so careful as he ought to be respecting the way in which his cowshed and its inmates are kept. Animals standing in, and bespattered with, manure, and men milking with filthy hands are the rule, and I venture to say that the purveyor of milk who would shake off the mistaken ideas and superstitions which cling round the cowsheds of this country, and would exercise reasonable care and supervision over his business, would soon reap the reward of a justly increased connection. In addition to the periodical visits, which are paid by myself and the Sanitary Inspector, your Council, during 1904, appointed a Veterinary Inspector, whose duty it is to visit and examine the animals in all the cowsheds throughout the Borous'h, and to make a monthly report of the results of such inspection. So much has been written of late years about the necessity of a pure milk supply, that neither the farmer, nor the purveyor, nor even the consumer, can any longer claim that ignorance of what ought to be done in regard to keeping milk pure is other than wilful. The consumer has really the matter in his own hands, and if he would only insist on knowing the condition of the cowsheds from which the shops are supplied, he would no longer be beguiled by the white tiled shops where milk is retailed. These are admirable in themselves, but if the milk they retail emanates from dirty and undesirable surroundings, the selling of it under attrac- tive conditions cannot render it pure. No great outlay on the part of a cowkeeper or dairyman is required in order to convert and keep his shed in a clean and wholesome condition, and that his animals and milkers should also be kept clean. I do not recollect ever to have seen provision for washing the hands with soap and water, nor have I seen any attempt to wash and cleanse the udders of the cows before they are milked. These small details, together wuth the wearing of a clean washable overall by the milker, are matters whicli every cowkeeper should insist on being carried out. WATEB SUPPLY.—The Borough of Chatham is fortunate in possessing a pure and abundant sup])ly of water, which, in spite of it# hardness, is an excellent drinking water. The Company are, I believe.](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b29098865_0018.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
